Nimrod Lake
Yell County, Arkansas3,550 acresView mapDirections
Arkansas DEQ publishes the water-quality measurements for Nimrod Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- Impaired · Mercury
- 38 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Nimrod Lake in Yell County, Arkansas has water-quality measurements published by Arkansas DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.3 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 52 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 22.5 µg/L. Surface area: 3550 acres.
Nimrod Lake is a 3,550-acre productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Yell County, Arkansas with an estimated average depth of about 38 feet. Water clarity is improving over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 4 public boat landings. Compared to the 1 other monitored lakes in Yell County, Nimrod Lake ranks #1 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, ADEQ, last sampled 2019-10-14. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Nimrod Lake covers about 3,600 acres in Yell County. It has 4 public boat landings, so a lakefront rental is not the only way to get a boat on the water. For a place on the water, look through cabin and lake-house rentals near Nimrod Lake on Vrbo. For a hotel or motel room, Booking.com and Expedia both search around the lake.
What Nimrod Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch4 documented ramps
- Camping3 public campgrounds nearby
- Big water3,550 acres
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyLimited data
Based on clarity and algae readings from past sampling — there is no live water temperature and a current cyanobacteria reading for this lake. Check your state or county health department before you swim.
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Nimrod Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury, oxygen depletion (low DO). Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Nimrod Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Arkansas Division of Environmental Quality and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Nimrod Lake
These are the measurements Arkansas DEQ publishes for Nimrod Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Very murky, less than 2.3 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 52 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 22.5 µg/L. TSI 63.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 2.3ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 52µg/L | Poor GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 22.5µg/L | Poor GoodFairPoor |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 63 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Nimrod Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~38 ft est.
Surface area
3,550 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by Arkansas DEQ
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Arkansas has not published bathymetry for Nimrod Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
685 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
17.6 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
348 ft
Size, shoreline, and watershed area from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS). Mean depth here is modelled, not surveyed — HydroLAKES v1.0 estimates lake depth from surrounding terrain rather than from soundings. Treat it as an approximation, and prefer a state bathymetric survey where one exists.
Recreation & Access
- Quarry Cove Recreation AreaPublic
- Carter Cove Recreation AreaPublic
- Anderson BranchPublic
- Carden Point Recreation AreaPublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Public campgrounds near Nimrod Lake
Nearest public campgrounds in the USGS National Map inventory, within about 3 miles. An empty list means USGS records no campground that close, which is not the same as camping being unavailable. Where the source gives an official reservation link, it is used; the cabin and hotel search does not cover campsites. More camping lakes
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Nimrod Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Nimrod Lake in Yell County, Arkansas — live availability and prices for your trip. Switch the map to Satellite to see the lake and how close each stay is to the water. The water-quality readings cover nutrients and algae, not lodging. Cabins and rentals around Nimrod Lake are listed below.
Top-rated places to stay near Nimrod Lake
Prices for Oct 30–Nov 1, 4 adults. Change dates on the map below.
Availability and prices from Stay22 partners (Booking.com, Vrbo, Expedia). We may earn a commission from bookings, at no extra cost to you.
Planning a trip? Cabins and lodging at Nimrod Lake → · more Arkansas lake trips
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Fishing Nimrod Lake
Water Quality Trend: Stable
Based on 6 years of monitoring (2012–2019).
Water clarity
Improving3 years
Phosphorus
Stable+0.72 µg/L/yr6 years
Chlorophyll-a
Worsening+2.31 µg/L/yr6 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Nimrod Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Nimrod Dam (completed 1942), built primarily for flood risk reduction on the Fourche La Fave; concrete-type dam, 103 ft tall and 1,012 ft long.
- Surface area
- 3,550 ac
- Normal storage
- 29,000 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 336,000 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 680 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- USACE - Little Rock District
All listed purposes: Flood Risk Reduction;Recreation;Water Supply.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID AR00158 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Nimrod Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2022 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 5).
Causes of impairment
Designated uses not supporting: Aquatic life, Fish consumption.
A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan has been approved.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit AR_11110206_4052 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Yell County
Frequently asked questions about Nimrod Lake
Where is Nimrod Lake?
- Nimrod Lake is a lake in Yell County, Arkansas. Its water-quality measurements are published by Arkansas DEQ and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Nimrod Lake?
- Nimrod Lake in Yell County, Arkansas has water-quality measurements published by Arkansas DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.3 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 52 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 22.5 µg/L. Surface area: 3550 acres.
Is Nimrod Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Nimrod Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury, oxygen depletion (low DO). Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Nimrod Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Nimrod Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 38 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate. The lake covers 3550 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Nimrod Lake?
- Nimrod Lake has 4 documented boat landings in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Quarry Cove Recreation Area, Carter Cove Recreation Area, Anderson Branch, Carden Point Recreation Area. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Nimrod Lake?
- Nimrod Lake has 4 documented boat landings in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Seasons, size and bag limits, and whether you need a license are set by Arkansas's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
Are there campgrounds on Nimrod Lake?
- Nimrod Lake has 3 public campgrounds from USGS The National Map within 5 km, including Carden Point, Carter Cove, Quarry Cove. This is a location join, not a booking. Cabins and hotels are listed separately; campsite reservations use the official link when the source provides one.
Explore Nimrod Lake across LakeQuality
Planning a trip around Hot Springs?
Nimrod Lake is about 31 miles from Hot Springs National Park. Crowds there swing hard by season, so the month you pick changes both how busy the park is and what lodging costs.
Best time to visit Hot Springs →More lakes in Arkansas
Other Lakes in Arkansas
Eutrophic Lakes in Arkansas
Where this data comes from
209 measurements from 3 monitoring stations, 2012–2019. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality
ARDEQH2O_WQX205 samples · 2012–2019 - USGS Arkansas Water Science Center
USGS-AR4 samples · 2014
Analytical methods
- Secchi disk method
- P, wu, WCA, persulfate CF color
- Plant pigments, sonication & 445
- 4500 P J ~ Persulfate Method for Simultaneous Determination of Total Nitrogen and Total Phosphorus
- 445.0 ~ EPA; Chlorophyll and Pheophytin in Algae by Fluorescence
Monitoring station identifiers (3)
EPA condition classes from the National Lakes Assessment (EPA 841-R-24-006, Table 6-3), applied by ecoregion. See where the data comes from and data sources.
Other records on this page
Impairment status from EPA ATTAINS 303(d) database
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory
Public campgrounds from USGS The National Map Structures, within about 3 miles